By David Rogers. ROAN MOUNTAIN, Tenn. — By the end of the first quarter on Nov. 9, one might have guessed that the host Cloudland middle school boys basketball team would leverage a 9-2 score into a runaway victory over Watauga District. That’s not the way it turned out, though, as the visiting Wolverines used aggressive defense and scoring leadership from Lucas Cash, Chase McInturff and Brycen Scheffler to rally past the Highlanders, 33-23.
McInturff really got things going for Watauga in the second period with two 3-pointers and a couple of free throws to score all of his 8 points for the game in that frame. Cash, however, was the offensive driver for the full course of the contest, with a game-high 14 points. Scheffler was the big man underneath the basket, collecting rebounds and adding 6 points on the night.
Watauga “won” the second quarter, 16-6, then tightened the defensive effort and only allowed Cloudland to score eight more points in the second half.
Cloudland girls dominate, 27-21
Size frequently matters in basketball and in the case of Cloudland vs. the Watauga middle school girls, it certainly made a difference.
In the first quarter, Cloudland controlled the boards early and got a pair of three-pointers from Abnella Jones to get a head start, but with aggressive defense the Wolverine girls battled back to tie the score at 10-10 by the end of the first period. Neither team was able to score in the second quarter, but in the second half the looming size and athleticism of the Cloudland girls took their toll, outscoring Watauga 17-11 in the third period.
Watauga was led in the scoring department by Charlie Mattox (10 points), Caroline Durham (4), Quinn Haines (4) and Kate Moore (3).
SCHOOL TEAM SCORES
The school-specific teams were active on Nov. 9, too.
GIRLS
- Green Valley 29, Blowing Rock 4
- Hardin Park 38, Valle Crucis 8
- Parkway 38, Cove Creek 5
- Mabel 31, Bethel 28
BOYS
- Green Valley 36, Blowing Rock 21
- Parkway 33, Cove Creek 26
- Hardin Park 52, Valle Crucis 9
- Bethel 49, Mabel 12
